¿Es la sexta extinción en masa una realidad?

Abstract

Determining whether we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction is crucial to recognize the current biodiversity crisis and take urgent measures for species conservation. This research examines the characteristics and evidence of past mass extinctions and reviews proposed hypotheses for measuring modern extinction rates, selected for their relevance and scientific controversy. These hypotheses employ methodologies such as numerical formulas based on fossil records of ancient and recent extinctions, and analyses of the traits of vulnerable species. They notably utilize data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on threatened species. The results highlight four main hypotheses defining a modern crisis of species extirpation, although with discrepancies in the data due to paleontological biases and limited data on currently described species by the IUCN. While each hypothesis suggests different extinction rate results, they generally illustrate a crisis of species extirpation caused by human intervention and in relation to previous extinctions. Despite the data discrepancies, it was possible to illustrate and provide evidence of a significant loss of biodiversity compared to previous levels, primarily characterized by human causation.